By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
GCW “56 Birdz”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
January 13, 2024 in Columbus, Ohio at Valley Dale Ballroom
This is a ballroom with a high ceiling and attendance is maybe 300-400, and they’ve used this building before. The lights are on, so visibility isn’t an issue. Dave Prazak and Nick Maniwa provided commentary,
* Bad weather in Chicago forced a few wrestlers to miss the Friday show. However, Jack Cartwheel and Jonathan Gresham were able to make it to Ohio after missing the Chicago event.
1. “Violence is Forever” Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini defeated August Matthews & Davey Bang and “The Rejects” Reed Bentley & John Wayne Murdoch in a three-way tag to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 8:02. ViF came out first, which I thought was strange; they faced Bang and Matthews on Friday, so this is almost a repeat match. Matthews and Bang came out second, but were attacked from behind by the Rejects, and all three teams fought on the floor. Bang hit his Triangle Moonsault while Matthews hit a dive through the ropes at 3:00. They hit a team doublestomp on Ku’s back for a nearfall. Garrini hit a decapitating clothesline. ViF and the Rejects brawled in the ring.
Bang hit the Spears Tower, sending Murdoch and Garrini through a door in the corner at 5:30. Murdoch hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Bentley dropped Ku face-first to the mat. Matthews hit a 450 Splash, but Bang missed one. Murdoch hit a top-rope Canadian Destroyer. However, Murdoch was shoved to the floor, and Garrini jumped on Bang to steal the pin. Okay match.
2. Oni El Bendito defeated Jack Cartwheel at 8:17. I’ve described the masked Bendito to a young La Parka in his size/body type; he’s definitely bigger than your average luchador. Bendito easily shoved Jack to the mat. Jack hit some creative armdrags. Bendito hit his inside-out-Asai Moonsault at 3:00 and that popped the crowd. Cartwheel hit a DDT. He hit his cartwheel Death Valley Driver. He nailed the Sasake Special dive to the floor; he got a nearfall in the ring at 6:00. Bendito fired back with a Buzzsaw Kick to the jaw for a nearfall. Bendito hit a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Jack did a cartwheel-into-a-stunner. Bendito hit another powerbomb, then one over his knee for the pin! That was good and I wish it had gone longer. A mild upset, too.
3. “The Rich and Powerful” Charles Mason and Richard Holliday (w/Parrow) defeated “Philly Marino Experience” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia at 8:15. PME are regulars in AIW and Black Label Pro in Ohio/Indiana. Philly (think Joe Gacy) opened against Holliday. The heels began working over Marino in their corner. Tenaglia hit a huracanrana and a dropkick at 2:30. Marino hit a double DDT. Collins got in and hit a senton. Mason sprayed liquid into Marino’s eyes, and Holliday immediately hit a stunner for a nearfall at 5:00.
Mason hit a dropkick as Marino was tied in the Tree of Woe; Parrow bent Marino backward around the ring post. Tenaglia hit a second-rope spinning summersault move onto Holliday. Mason and Collins tagged in, and Philly hit a spinning heel kick, then a swinging Death Valley Driver move for a nearfall. Prazak speculated that Holliday hurt his shoulder. Mason hit a Tower of London stunner, then a rolling Death Valley Driver for the pin. The crowd booed. It does appear Holliday is legit injured. Parrow jumped in the ring and hit a double chokeslam on PME.
* I rewound the tape; as Tenaglia hit the spinning summersault move on Holliday (which I italicized), Richard landed more awkwardly than I realized, and my guess is he separated his shoulder upon landing. However, Holliday hasn’t mentioned the injury on his Twitter/X space, so hopefully it was a minor tweak.
4. Brohski Jimmy Lloyd (w.Steph De Lander) defeated 1 Called Manders at 7:59. Again, Lloyd is taking marching orders from Cardona because he lost a match to him. Lloyd was forced to recite what SDL whispered in his ear, which concluded with him saying “F— Ohio.” Manders got a nice pop. Manders hit a shoulder tackle that sent Lloyd flying into a corner. Lloyd hit a chairshot to the back, then one over the head, at 4:30. He hit a superkick, but Manders nailed a clothesline, and they were both down. Manders hit another clothesline, but he missed a moonsault. Lloyd immediately hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall at 6:30. Lloyd got a door and chairs from under the ring, and a door bridge was set up. SDL threw powder into Manders’ eyes! Lloyd immediately hit the Fame-asser flying leg lariat, sending Manders through the door bridge, to score the tainted pin.
5. Rina Yamashita and “Los Macizos” Ciclope and Miedo Extremo” defeated Jeffrey John and Alec Price and Brayden Toon at 10:11. Jeffrey John also is a regular in the Midwest and he’s appeared on a handful of GCW shows in the past; Prazak said he was added to this event just hours ago. Price and Miedo opened. Rina went to grab John’s groin, but he blocked it and hit a headbutt. They did some comedy where Ciclope got winded while running the ropes. Toon hit a moonsault at 4:30 and his team began working over Ciclope. Ciclope hit a double Northern Lights Suplex.
Rina got the hot tag and she began beating up Toon and Price, and she grabbed them both in the groin. Toon hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor but barely grazed his opponents. Price hit a dive to the floor at 8:00. In the ring, John hit a top-rope diving stunner on Rina for a nearfall. Price hit a double dropkick. He again went to the dive to the floor, but Miedo caught him and threw him onto Brayden in the crowd. In the ring, Ciclope slammed John through the door bridge. Rina immediately hit a frogsplash to pin John. A fun, messy match, and I mean that as a compliment.
6. Myron Reed defeated Lio Rush at 12:30. This should have been the main event; both men lost on Friday. They avoided each other’s kicks at the bell. Lio nailed a dive to the floor; this one looked like a dangerous landing. Myron hopped in the ring and hit a hard dive onto Lio! Lio jumped in and hit a hard dive onto Myron! Myron dove over the top rope onto Rush at 1:30; yes that is a lot of dives in the first 90 seconds. They brawled in front of the fans. Myron placed Lio across the front row seats but he broke free of fans holding him down. In the ring, Myron hit an enzuigiri for a nearfall at 5:00. LIo hit a spin kick to the head for a nearfall.
Reed nailed a superkick at 7:00. They hit simultaneous clotheslines and were both down. Reed hit a Stundog Millionaire. Reed hit his diving stunner over the top rope to the floor, but on the floor, Lio hit a Poison Rana! In the ring, Lio hit a Falcon Arrow for a believable nearfall at 9:30. The crowd was hot and split. Reed hit his kip-up stunner, then a rope-assisted Flatliner for a believable nearfall at 11:00. Lio nailed a Buzzsaw Kick to the head, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant. They traded rollups, and Myron got the pin! That was a shocker, and the crowd popped for the upset. “This is the win Myron Reed needed,” Prazak said.
7. Joey Janela defeated Microman to retain the GCW Extreme Title at 8:34. Microman again comes out to Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” and I doubt they got licensing rights for it. Joey stomped on Microman and was punched. Janela tried some clotheslines but of course, Microman ran right underneath them. Microman ‘gave Janela an Irish Whip’ that sent him flying into the corner and to the floor, and the crowd played along, chanting “holy shit!” In the ring, Joey and the ref tossed him back and forth like a hot potato, and Janela made a lazy one-foot cover for a nearfall.
Janela hit a Mafia Kick and he did the “Hogan poses” at 3:30 and was booed, but he missed a Hogan Legdrop. Microman hit some back suplexes and the crowd chanted “Suplex City!” He hit a 619. Janela went under the ring and got a chair. However, Microman stomped on Janela’s toes. Microman grabbed the chair and threw it at Janela’s head and got a nearfall at 6:00. Microman missed the Vader Bomb. Microman dropkicked Janela, sending him flying backward through a door in the corner. Microman hit a huracanrana for a nearfall. They traded chops. Janela hit a superkick for the pin and was LOUDLY booed. They pulled every trick out to make that work, and the crowd was fully into it.
8. Joshua Bishop defeated Hoodfoot at 5:49. Hoodfoot is a big. bald Black man; I generally avoid death matches so I haven’t seen much of him in action. They immediately traded punches, and Bishop hit a fallaway slam. Hoodfoot hit a dive to the floor; I didn’t expect that. Bishop began tossing doors and chairs into the ring, and he hit Hoodfoot in the head with a door; I hate that. They traded unprotected blows to the head; I don’t care how fragile those doors are, this is just unbelievably careless and stupid. There is nothing ‘tough’ about taking blows to your skull. Hoodfoot hit a back suplex onto a door bridge at 4:00 for a nearfall.
Bishop hit Hoodfoot with chairshots to the head, with Hoodfoot making NO EFFORT to protect himself. This is just sickening. I have counted FIVE unprotected chairshots to the head (plus the unprotected blows from door shards). Bishop hit a Razor’s Edge across the backs of six open chairs and scored the pin. To me, this is far worse than a bloody match with light tubes and glass. I just cannot fathom why anyone would take those blows to the unprotected head. A huge turnoff for me.
* A table and two chairs were set up in the ring for a contract signing. Effy came out first, then Mance Warner, and Mance jawed at fans in the front row, taking his time getting to the ring. They argued and eventually signed. As Effy was leaving the ring, Mance pulled out a screwdriver and he stabbed Effy with it. Mance then signed the contract with blood from Effy’s forehead. Gross but well done.
9. Jonathan Gresham defeated Cole Radrick at 17:56. I have routinely called Radrick a ‘Gomer Pyle-meets-James Ellsworth dork’; I admittedly am not a fan, and this is probably the first time I’ve seen him in the main event of a show. The crowd loves him, though, and they chanted, “Raddy Daddy” at him. With TNA running their PPV in Las Vegas, it’s a bit surprising that Gresham isn’t on that show. Standing switches and a feeling-out process to open. Intense mat reversals; this is fine but not descriptive. They got up and Gresham hit a hard chop at 7:00 and that woke up the crowd. They traded chops, until Radrick slapped him in the face.
Gresham focused on twisting the left arm. Radrick hit a clothesline to the back of the head at 9:30, then a leaping Flatliner. Gresham got a backslide for a nearfall. Cole got a suplex for a nearfall. Gresham snapped the left arm, and he switched to a Boston Crab at 11:30. Gresham hit a DDT for a nearfall. They traded rollups and Gresham hit a diving forearm for a nearfall at 16:00. Gresham hit a low blow punt kick with the ref out of position for a nearfall. He hit another diving forearm for a believable nearfall. Gresham applied a rear-naked choke, sat down on the mat, and Radrick passed out. The crowd booed this outcome. This admittedly didn’t do much for me, or convince me that Radrick is suddenly a main-eventer.
Final Thoughts: With no Mike Bailey and Masha Slamovich (who were at TNA), and most of the top luchadors who were in Chicago on Friday went to F1rst Wrestling in Minneapolis, and Jordan Oliver in Europe, and no Blake Christian, this felt more like a ‘B show’ than a typical GCW show. I did really like Myron-Lio, and hopefully this win means Myron Reed is about to become more of a regular here. He’s certainly talented enough. I liked Bendito-Cartwheel for second best. If you need some comedy in your life, Janela-Microman will fit the bill.
Nothing else here really stood out. I would argue that the top five matches from Friday were better than everything here. I am really disturbed that in 2024, in the wake of everything we now know about concussions (from NFL players to past pro wrestlers) and the long-term impact on health and mental well-being, that Hoodfoot would stand there and take one unprotected chairshot to the head after another, with no attempt whatsoever to get his hands up to partially block the blows. No way would Triple H allow this, and even with Tony Khan’s willingness for bloodshed, I think he would block this from happening, too. If Hoodfoot won’t protect himself, then a promoter simply shouldn’t use him.
Be the first to comment